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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Passion Magazine is an...

online magazine geared towards teenage girls. Our prayer is that God will provide His encouragement and teaching for His daughters through our work, and that in readers by our magazine will be instilled and stirred a passion for God, a passion for the people around them, and a passion for life. We want girls' eyes to be opened to their true beauty and value in Christ and to realize His passionate pursuit for their hearts.

I am on staff at Passion Magazine as a photographer and I enjoy it very much!

I definitely advise you to consider taking part in this Ministry, by either subscribing or becoming a staff member!

How do I subscribe?

To subscribe to Passion Magazine, please fill out the form to the left of the page. Please include both your first and last name. (It'll help us know which Katie or Sarah or Emily you are!) It will send us an email about it and we'll add you to our subscriptions list and email you when we do from the email passion@passionwebmag.com! We'll also forward you any of the latest news that we've sent out to subscribers you have missed for about the past month, like the latest newsletters. Your personal information is perfectly safe with us. We will NOT give your name, e-mail, or location to anyone. The information won't go past our contact list. In messages we send out to all the subscribers, we send it out as blind carbon copies so no one will see your email.

Monday, April 25, 2011

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

— Matthew 5:9

Special Update: Thank you for praying for the success of the GPG and for praying with us during this special time. We experienced the presence of God during this weekend of dedicated prayer, with nearly 1000 people gathered together in Washington D.C. and GPG online participants representing 629 cities and 41 countries!

Africa

Please pray for funding opportunities for our work in Uganda, which would support and expand our capacity to ensure that widows and orphans are protected from perpetrators of land- and property-grabbing.

IJM HQ

Pray for IJM Director of Church Mobilization Mike Hogan as he speaks at IntownPresbyterian Church in Portland, OR. Pray for peace and God’s favor.

Continue to pray for the many IJM Justice Advocates who are speaking on our behalf this month at various churches and venues. Pray that God would speak through them to give an accurate and compelling picture of the call to justice.

Latin America

The church in La Paz experiences significant division, which poses obstacles for IJM Bolivia’s Church Mobilization department. Please pray for wisdom as IJMBolivia considers how to effectively train and mobilize the church to confront violent oppression. Please pray for unity among Christians in La Paz.

Please pray for the investigations team of IJM casework alliance partner Paz y Esperanza as they plan the arrest of a suspect in a sexual abuse case. The accused in this case is wealthy and is attempting to evade responsibility for his alleged crime. Please pray that an arrest warrant would be issued against the suspect and that the arrest would be successful.

Please pray for the logistical needs of Paz y Esperanza as the team works in poor communities in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Please pray specifically that the office would be able to secure a van for transportation purposes.

South Asia

Please pray for judges in two cases where the defense is trying to prolong the trial. Pray the judge rejects these attempts.

Pray that former slaves who have completed IJM’s leadership training will emerge to lead their communities.

Please pray for the leadership transition of the administration department of one of our field offices. Please pray for the team as it works diligently to support the office as we seek a new director of administration.

Pray that at an upcoming pastor’s conference for local churches, God would grip the hearts of the attendees for the cause of justice.

Southeast Asia

Pray that IJM investigators will have wisdom and perseverance to build trustworthy partnerships with local authorities in order to conduct successful rescue operations.

Trafficking charges against a bar owner were recently dropped. Pray for favor as the judge reviews a petition IJM Cebu has filed with the Court of Appeals so that the owner will be rightly tried for his crimes.

Pray that local authorities in Manila would close a bar that was selling underage girls for sexual exploitation and that IJM would have wisdom to identify the trafficker. Pray for the five young girls who were recently rescued from this bar and are now in a government-run aftercare shelter. Pray that they would experience healing and restoration.

Other P&P's:

From Charity:

Prayer for this upcoming week with traveliong to MA! Prayer for focus and perseverance in school!

From Megan:
Prayer for SATS, and AP exam, as well as prayer for Graduation!

Africa

Pray for an IJM client in Uganda who is in need of a suitable buyer for her land. If a buyer is found, she will finally be able to move away from her abusive stepchildren, bring her case with IJM to a close and be relieved from the injustice that has held her captive for so long. Pray against deceitful tactics used by the perpetrators to scare her into abandoning the case.

Continue to pray for Michael, an elderly man being held in a Kenyan prison on false charges. Pray that he would be encouraged by God’s peace even as he waits in prison, and pray for the efforts of the IJM legal team as they seek to secure his release.

IJM HQ

Latin America

Please pray for a client of IJM casework alliance partner Paz y Esperanza who was the victim of sexual abuse. Please pray for this client’s emotional restoration and for a swift and just conclusion to her case. Please pray that corruption would not affect this case, as the team believes that the family members and lawyer of the alleged perpetrator are attempting to sway the case in the accused’s favor.

Please pray for the eight victims in a case against a suspected pedophile inGuatemala. The alleged aggressor befriended single mothers in his area, offering to take care of their children and train them to be part of a soccer team. Instead, he allegedly abused the children. Please pray for all the victims, and for wisdom for the IJM Guatemala legal and aftercare teams in handling the case.

Please pray that the public justice system in Ecuador would be transformed to serve the poor and that corruption would decrease.

South Asia

Our teams are still learning new strategies in their work to investigate forced labor please keep praying for this process. Pray that the staff would be highly strategic in order to keep cases consistently coming in.

Pray that girls rescued from trafficking would have courage and to give truthful, strong statements to the police about their confinement and abuse.

Please pray for a case that is coming to judgment very soon. Pray that the two remaining witnesses, both of whom are police, would be able to come to court on their assigned dates. Pray that the trial would reach judgment by the end of April.

Pray for our work to improve the aftercare infrastructure in South Asia. Continue to pray for clarity as we formulate plans.

Southeast Asia

Pray for the Thailand team as they explore a new casework project to counter child sexual abuse in the region. Pray that the staff would have the capacity and resources to take on this new challenge. Pray that children who have suffered from sexual abuse would find freedom through our efforts and laws against such abuse would be justly enforced.

Pray that the women and girls rescued from trafficking in the Philippines would have the courage and confidence to reintegrate into their communities despite the abuse they have endured. Pray for more job and education opportunities to meet the long-term needs of our clients.

Pray specifically for the many girls rescued this past Saturday from a Cebu bar where they were sold for sex. Pray that they would be courageous in sharing their stories, that they would know peace during this difficult time and that justice would be done for them.

From Me:

*Prayer that we will get an offer on our house!
*Prayer for focus on school these next couple of weeks until Summer.

If you have any Prayers or Praises to share with others, do not hesitate to e-mail @ alacritymagazine.director@gmail.comYou can specify in the e-mail if you want it public or only viewable by Alacrity.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

On Thursday, April 7th, Senator Webb of Virginia is calling a hearing to review the work of the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) in East Asia. We want your help in thanking the Senator for holding this hearing as well as conveying our support for the TIP Office’s critical work to fight human trafficking worldwide. It is crucial that the Senator hear from you, his constituent, to k...now Virginians care about U.S. leadership in the fight against modern-day slavery.

The TIP Office’s annual TIP Report spotlights gaps in countries’ response to slavery and trafficking, and provides help to address those weaknesses. The Report encourages governments to free slaves and trafficking victims, bring perpetrators to justice, and deter the crime. IJM has seen the positive impact of the TIP Office firsthand.

Will you help flood Senator Webb’s office with phone calls to convey support for the TIP Office on April 6?

Making a call is easy: You can reach Senator Webb’s office at (202) 224-4024, and use this sample script:

Hi, my name is [Your Name] and I’m calling from [Your City], VA. I’d like to thank Senator Webb for holding this important hearing on the crime of slavery and trafficking around the world on April 7th and would just like to convey my support for the good work of the TIP office. Would you pass my message along to the Senator? Thanks! Thank you for lending your voice to support the TIP Office so they can continue fighting on behalf of children, women, and men in bondage around the world.